Gear Talk: Shimano Citica 201E

I have been planning to write something about the tackles that I use but when I was about to, I somehow fail to do so for some unknown reason. I guess a lot of people might be interested in these stuff so I will give it a shot.

First up, which is my latest purchase, is a Shimano Citica 201E. It's a cheap incarnation of Shimano Curado 200 series. What's the difference between the Curado 201E other than the color? First, the gear ratio. Citica is 6.3:1 while Curado has 7:1 and a 5:1. Second, the spool on a Citica is relatively heavier than that of a Curado. This gives the Curado an edge over the Citica when it comes to casting distance and casting lighter lures. Well, out of the box that is. A little tweak on the Citica can even things up (I will discuss this in a bit). The other difference is the paddles (handles) the handle in Citica is shorter with smaller grips and the paddles do not have the 2 ball bearings (1 for each paddle) that the Curado have -- and these paddles can't be upgraded with some ball bearings. Sucks, doesn't it?

Another difference is the Star wheel. It's plastic in the Citica and Aluminum in the Curados. The other difference is under the the main shaft of the Citica. It's a plastic bushing while it's a Ball bearing in Curado. One other difference is that the Citica has this really cheap looking brake blocks mounted on squarish brake pins made of plastic. Curado has round stainless metal pins with clear plastic round blocks. To top everything off, Citica also has inferior bearings compared to Curado's (SS and ARB).

All of these differences is because Citica is cheaper than a Curado by around $60 to $80.

When I first tried the reel, the first thing I noticed is that it was not smooth. It doesn't feel good on my hands especially when I crank it. Maybe I am just used to an Abu Revo Inshore or SX. When I checked the schematics,  I noticed a plastic bushing under the shaft. I got myself a SARB ball bearing meant for a Shimano Scorpion XT from plat.co.jp and replaced that bushing. That ball bearing bearing made a lot of difference in improving the smoothness of the reel. If you plan on getting a Citica, it's a must have for this reel. The size of the bearing is 5mm×9mm×3mm.

Photo courtesy of Bong. The blue plastic here is the bushing which can be replaced with a stainless steel ball bearing. In my case, I replaced it with a Shimano Scorpion XT 1501 ball bearing.

To compensate for the inferior Citica spool, I upgraded the spool bearings with ABEC 7 Ceramic bearings. Let me tell you, if you have the cash buy a pair of these. My bearings came from a friend in Canada. Those bearings really burn. The casting distance outmatched the Curado.

I field tested the reel when I went north for a whole week of kayak fishing in estuarine rivers. After around 7 nice-sized Mangrove Jacks (1.5kg to 3.5kg), the brake ring inside the side plate fell off. It's like a China made reel really. Aside from the components, Shimano may have scrimped on glue on this reel. It was disappointing. Anyway, after a few drops of Super glue, it was back as new. The drag, after just a week of use began to stick, I was really expecting it to be so. Maybe American anglers don't notice this in colder weather but after fishing under the tropical sun, the drag washer will soften and stick into the metal washers. Startup will be compromised which can snap lines when  big fish strikes. The remedy is to replace the drag washer with Carbontex from Smoothdrag.

My final say on the reel? It's cheap and relatively  upgradeable, which is a good thing. If you have the cash, go with the easier path and buy a Curado 200 E or 201E. If you love to tinker around and don't have dough to spare, go for Citica and keep upgrading it one part at a time with Scorpion XT parts. Note, Scorpion parts are cheaper than Curado parts for some unknown reason. By the time you are done, you will have an awesome fishing machine.

Monday Recon Trip

Last Saturday, we were supposed to fish for Mamali (Threadfin) but when we reached the launch area, it started raining and the wind picked up. The boatman politely said that it will be impossible to fish due to the waves plus we will be miserably wet for the entire night. So, we ended up in QC drinking beer all night. I was planning to go to ANP to scratch the itch the following day but because of the hangover, I still was not able to.

Come Monday, the itch was unbearable. I got an SMS from Bong and he also felt the same. So, in an instant, we cooked up a recon up North. I called in sick (Sick from uncontrollable urge to fish). When we were about to leave, we SMS'd Miko about our plan. The guy hurriedly went back home from his office and sneaked a pack of lures, a couple of reels, and a Rod. While waiting for Miko, we studied a map that I put together from Google maps and identified spots that we can recon.

We left Manila at around 11am. Our plan was to go to Candaba swamp area. But upon passing Pulilan, we decided to stop and check the Pulilan river. We rigged and fished for around half an hour. No fish but the place was a super nice and has lots of potential. Unfortunately, the bank was too steep for casting and we needed to find some other spot in the river that is fit for lure anglers. When we were about to leave for Candaba, we realized that it was too late and decided to just scout for snakehead spots nearby. After an hour or so, we ended up in Calumpit.

When we passed by the Calumpit river, we spotted some fishes feeding on the surface and we immediately drove near the river bank to check it out. We tried different lures and casted near the bridge. Unfortunately, no takers.



At around 3pm, we hooked up with Gil and his son Isaac. We scouted a potential spot that Gil saw way back. We were not expecting too much action because it was getting cold and the wind had picked up. We threw frogs and there were no takers. Around 3:30, Gil got first blood from a spinner. Almost a kilo Snakehead. When Gil showed us the fish, everyone got excited and rigged our gear with spinner baits.

To make a long story short, we landed 22 Snakeheads in three hours. Hooked twice that number and had countless strikes. And we only fished a small section of the marsh land! It's not even a quarter of the entire area.

These fishes got badly injured so we decided that these should be taken home. The rest were released to fight another day.

My First Threadfin Salmon

While I was in Zambales during the holidays, a fishing frenzy was happening in Manila Bay. Anglers were catching Threadfin Salmon, and they were big --- from a kilo up to 3kg fishes. They were being caught using top water lures and spoons.

To be honest, I have been trying to catch a Threadfin since November. I've been to three threadfin trips already and not a single bite. When I heard they started to appear in big groups during the end of December, I got really excited. I had to catch one and find out if it's reputation of a great fighter is true. So, last week we planned today's trip and asked Bong to reserve a big boat --- I was hoping some will join me in the hunt. I was also planning to field test a couple of new rods that I got as year-end gift to myself. Unfortunately, everyone's not available. My cousin said he can't come because he can't fish the whole day. But because the boat was already reserved, I convinced my cousin to fish for just half a day --- 6am to 12nn. Half a day of fishing is better than no fishing at all. I just hoped the fishes were biting in the morning.

So we arrived at Gloria Maris just before 6. The boatman was not yet ready. They forgot to buy gasoline so we had to wait near the breakwater together with morning joggers. After half an hour or so, we finally left to the spot. It was a good half an hour to get there. The waves were a bit high and that concerned me. My game plan was all out topwater. Them fishes might not notice my lures with all these waves crashing in the surface. And that's what happened. Not a nibble when the waves were strong. Around 10am, the waves lessened but unfortunately, threadfin was sparse. We saw individual fishes busting bait on the surface but it they were just so few. So, out of desperation, I just fan casted all around the boat. For the entire morning, there was not even a single strike. I was ready to call it a day when the waves flattened and we started seeing panicking baitfishes.

Around 12 noon, the fan casting paid off. I got my first threadfin. It crashed my lure thrice before I got hookup. The fish jumped three times as well and dove under the boat. It was 1.7kg. After some photos, I resumed fan casting. I managed to get 3 more strikes but they failed to connect to the lure. Just before 1pm, we went back to the docks. There, Erwin and Manny were waiting for their turn with the boat.

My impression --- I was expecting something stronger --- something stronger than a ladyfish. Maybe this one is not big enough. Anyway, my first threadfin was a good size and I hope the next one would be bigger.

As for the two rods, they were awesome. The first got christened while the other one got multiple strikes.

I'm sure there are bigger threadies there. I just have to find the right time of day. I will be back for sure with a new game plan.